Critics have often lamented the lack of well defined succession planning in advertising agencies, a problem attributed to both intent & the dynamics specific to this industry. But not giving this strategic imperative its due could eventually hurt them badly in the long run
For those of us who did witness Subhas Ghosal reign over the advertising industry, it would be an understatement to describe him as the man who reinvented the very idea of creativity in India. Starting his career at HTA (Hindustan Thomson Associates, now known as JWT India) in 1944 under advertising legend Edward J. Fielden, Ghosal went on head HTA and was also the mastermind behind Contract Advertising (JWT’s sister concern). His rise to the top was pretty smooth. Given the kind of work he delivered, it just had to be that way. But before he took over as CEO, the board of HTA faced a dilemma. During the late 1970s, Ghosal was offered the job thrice and thrice he refused. An ad veteran who is well informed of the state of affairs at the agency in those days reveals to 4Ps B&M that top executives who were close to Ghosal had made it clear to the board that it had to be either him or one of them. When nothing worked out, HTA got hold of a person who was not an ad guy. He concludes, “Soon, there was a lot of confusion and Ghosal had to be finally persuaded to go to Mumbai and take over. This is an iconic case of succession planning going wrong. The agency thought that Ghosal was the right man. Ghosal said no. And suddenly, they were in the dark.”
When Ghosal finally stepped down in 1984, he was succeeded by Mike Khanna, who had been with HTA for close to 18 years. Khanna presided for two decades before finally handing over the reigns to Colvyn Harris. However, what is interesting to note is the fact that months before this, Khanna was quoted as stating, “No decision has been taken yet (on succession planning). We have a big pool of talent to choose from. Succession planning at JWT is not very simple.” And he also denied speculations that Harris will take over as Chairman of JWT India. Given the scale and size of JWT, it does seem odd that the agency did not have a clear road map on the issue of succession. Although, on the face of it, a compromise on this important area might not appear to have any significant impact, the true story is starkly different if you dig below the surface. For example, during the Khanna-Harris transition, JWT India ended up losing Sunil Gupta, who was then the Senior VP & General Manager, HTA and was apparently in the race for the throne. (In fact, even when Khanna was promoted to CEO in 1984, Ahluwalia and Ram Ray – two of HTA’s key executives – had resigned).
If you thought that these are just isolated instances, look at ad land a little more closely and you’ll realise that the industry witnesses high profile exits and shifts quite regularly, and a dissatisfaction with the pecking order is often cited as the most ostensible reason. In 2001, Rajiv Agarwal resigned from Enterprise Nexus where he was serving as Managing Director. The development was totally unexpected, because Agarwal had been quite instrumental in ensuring the growth of the company. Similarly, in 2008, Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi put in their papers at JWT and Leo Burnett respectively, and joined hands to start TapRoot. In 2010, Priti Nair quit BBH India and founded Curry Nation. In the case of Nair, BBH had to wait for quite some time before someone could fit into her shoes. Shedding light on the crunch for talent to fill in a position, Nair tells 4Ps B&M, “To narrow down on a successor takes time. It takes time to evaluate performance with a varied set of circumstances. Unfortunately in advertising, the turnover is very high and people don’t stick around long enough anymore as they used to.” Well, as is evident in organisations even outside the ad world, succession planning is not just important for the company but also for the people in race for the top job. As Arvind Wable, Executive Director and CEO of Draftfcb Ulka, puts it, “It is important because it helps the organisation grow beyond individuals. If an individual leaves, it shouldn’t impact the business of the agency. Further, succession planning also gives an assurance to people in the organisation that they have the opportunity to move up the ladder.” In fact, the people driven nature of the advertising business makes succession planning even more crucial for the industry. In their book titled ‘The advertising industry business’, authors Eugene J. Hameroff and Herbert S. Gardner write, “By its very nature, an agency is highly dependent on the talents of a small group of people. So a prolonged illness or death can play havoc with an agency that hasn’t foreseen these possibilities and made some advanced provisions to meet them.”
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Planman Technologies
For those of us who did witness Subhas Ghosal reign over the advertising industry, it would be an understatement to describe him as the man who reinvented the very idea of creativity in India. Starting his career at HTA (Hindustan Thomson Associates, now known as JWT India) in 1944 under advertising legend Edward J. Fielden, Ghosal went on head HTA and was also the mastermind behind Contract Advertising (JWT’s sister concern). His rise to the top was pretty smooth. Given the kind of work he delivered, it just had to be that way. But before he took over as CEO, the board of HTA faced a dilemma. During the late 1970s, Ghosal was offered the job thrice and thrice he refused. An ad veteran who is well informed of the state of affairs at the agency in those days reveals to 4Ps B&M that top executives who were close to Ghosal had made it clear to the board that it had to be either him or one of them. When nothing worked out, HTA got hold of a person who was not an ad guy. He concludes, “Soon, there was a lot of confusion and Ghosal had to be finally persuaded to go to Mumbai and take over. This is an iconic case of succession planning going wrong. The agency thought that Ghosal was the right man. Ghosal said no. And suddenly, they were in the dark.”
When Ghosal finally stepped down in 1984, he was succeeded by Mike Khanna, who had been with HTA for close to 18 years. Khanna presided for two decades before finally handing over the reigns to Colvyn Harris. However, what is interesting to note is the fact that months before this, Khanna was quoted as stating, “No decision has been taken yet (on succession planning). We have a big pool of talent to choose from. Succession planning at JWT is not very simple.” And he also denied speculations that Harris will take over as Chairman of JWT India. Given the scale and size of JWT, it does seem odd that the agency did not have a clear road map on the issue of succession. Although, on the face of it, a compromise on this important area might not appear to have any significant impact, the true story is starkly different if you dig below the surface. For example, during the Khanna-Harris transition, JWT India ended up losing Sunil Gupta, who was then the Senior VP & General Manager, HTA and was apparently in the race for the throne. (In fact, even when Khanna was promoted to CEO in 1984, Ahluwalia and Ram Ray – two of HTA’s key executives – had resigned).
If you thought that these are just isolated instances, look at ad land a little more closely and you’ll realise that the industry witnesses high profile exits and shifts quite regularly, and a dissatisfaction with the pecking order is often cited as the most ostensible reason. In 2001, Rajiv Agarwal resigned from Enterprise Nexus where he was serving as Managing Director. The development was totally unexpected, because Agarwal had been quite instrumental in ensuring the growth of the company. Similarly, in 2008, Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi put in their papers at JWT and Leo Burnett respectively, and joined hands to start TapRoot. In 2010, Priti Nair quit BBH India and founded Curry Nation. In the case of Nair, BBH had to wait for quite some time before someone could fit into her shoes. Shedding light on the crunch for talent to fill in a position, Nair tells 4Ps B&M, “To narrow down on a successor takes time. It takes time to evaluate performance with a varied set of circumstances. Unfortunately in advertising, the turnover is very high and people don’t stick around long enough anymore as they used to.” Well, as is evident in organisations even outside the ad world, succession planning is not just important for the company but also for the people in race for the top job. As Arvind Wable, Executive Director and CEO of Draftfcb Ulka, puts it, “It is important because it helps the organisation grow beyond individuals. If an individual leaves, it shouldn’t impact the business of the agency. Further, succession planning also gives an assurance to people in the organisation that they have the opportunity to move up the ladder.” In fact, the people driven nature of the advertising business makes succession planning even more crucial for the industry. In their book titled ‘The advertising industry business’, authors Eugene J. Hameroff and Herbert S. Gardner write, “By its very nature, an agency is highly dependent on the talents of a small group of people. So a prolonged illness or death can play havoc with an agency that hasn’t foreseen these possibilities and made some advanced provisions to meet them.”
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
Planman Technologies
